04-30-2021, 02:11 PM
(04-30-2021, 01:47 PM)Kammrath Wrote: So the bottom line is this:
- When Luka and KP have played together this year the Mavs have been a fringe playoff team or lottery team.
- When Luka has played without KP this year the Mavs have been an elite contender.
First of all, the emphasis is on this year. Even not whole year, just this year so far. A very strange and special year, one might add. Is it really that difficult to at least wait till the end of the season? Can't we perhaps also have a look at last season? Why is the conclusion that it can only get worse. Why is there no possibility for a conclusion, it may get better? There are multiple signs that it can be better.
Second - there is a huge amount of noise in those net ratings, it is far from bottomline. We can add a bit more context. When Luka played and KP didn't, Mavs were 11-8, 57 % win share. When both played Mavs were 22-15, 59 % win share. When Luka-JRich-DFS-Kleber-KP started, Mavs were 16-6, good for 73 % win share. Needless to say no other combination came close to this success. When Powell went in for Kleber, Mavs are 2-0. It clearly shows there was a large amount of games where Luka and KP played, but the supporting crew was weak. This also gives hope that Mavs are actually good when everybody is available. It just wasn't very often that everybody was available.